'The HCR-20 is a set of professional guidelines that is subject to empirical evaluation. As knowledge and research increase on violence and risk assessment, it is only appropriate to update risk assessment instruments. Like risk, knowledge is not static – procedures for assessing risk that are not rooted in current knowledge risk becoming obsolete.'

Changes have been made, some small and some large, to the HCR-20 item content, domain coverage, assessment procedure, and scoring rules. The fundamental “Structured Professional Judgment” approach will remain intact.

Kevin S. Douglas LL.B, PH.D www. kdouglas.wordpress.com

The HCR-20 version 3 is intended to facilitate assessment of risk for interpersonal violence, defined as actual, attempted, or threatened infliction of bodily harm on another person.

Like it predecessor, the version 3 contains a compilation of risk factors that have received empirical support across a wide array of contexts. As such there may be additional applications for which evaluators deem guidance from HCR-20 v3 appropriate. These include use within law enforcement and workplace settings

HCR-20 version 3 retains its tripartite temporal focus on past (Historical scale) present (Clinical scale), and future (Risk Management scale). It still has twenty risk factors (although a number of these now are divided into sub-items). In other words, users should be able to become comfortable with HCR-20 v3 rather quikly if they are already familiar with HCR-20 v2, or other SPJ instruments. For users who are new to the field of violence risk assessment, the learning and training phase should not require any more time for HCR-20 v3 as it does for HCR-20 v2.